397 replies to this topic

[Michigan Madman]

I'm waiting for somebody to get the chrome sprue that's a blend of white and purple. I've seen that before on a JoHan kit ,though it wasn't purple, I think it was white and red IIRC. I guess they just use whatever color they have on hand to do the chrome parts.

[whale392]

Hmm. Interesting that AMT would do that. You would think either all chrome trees cast in the same material, or cast in the material of the issue they are destined for. I first noticed the purple when I looked down into the headlight buckets and saw that the chrome didn't get all the way to the bottom. It looked like the Euro Blue/Purple H4 HID bulbs were installed! Then, Like you Dave, I noticed the cast plugs where the chrome wasn't on them...Metallic Purple. The real kicker was when I took the fan shroud halves and sanded the ejector pin marks off and squared up/flattened the mating surfaces.


Now, the kit itself has been OK to build so far, if you don't mind the typical for the time AMT parts breakdown and instruction call-out. I am modifying mine. Will I get any more than just the one I have.........not unless I can get a better deal pricing-wise. I was intrigued enough to buy one at current pricing, but once I got into the kit, I personally don't believe it is worth the MSRP price of admission. I like the kit, but not 'like-it-enough-to-pay-that-much' like.

[Edsel-Dan]

Since all parts start on One tree, that is cut into the separate trees we get in the kit,
including the Chrome tree(s) I bet there are an Equal number of Red, Purple & White
Chrome trees as there are kits of each make.
They could easily have been mixed at the Factory in CHINA After Plating.
Remember, once plated, they are not looking at the underlying base plastic, just What trees go in what box.
That could have happened Even if they were manufactured here in the US.
Plus, if the kits are only Final Boxed here, that would also cause the mixing of parts!

Only the Clear windows & lenses are Separate tooling.

[Foxer]

Since all parts start on One tree, that is cut into the separate trees we get in the kit,
including the Chrome tree(s) I bet there are an Equal number of Red, Purple & White
Chrome trees as there are kits of each make.
They could easily have been mixed at the Factory in CHINA After Plating.
Remember, once plated, they are not looking at the underlying base plastic, just What trees go in what box.
That could have happened Even if they were manufactured here in the US.
Plus, if the kits are only Final Boxed here, that would also cause the mixing of parts!

Only the Clear windows & lenses are Separate tooling.

What you say makes sense and would explain the various colors under the chrome. Although I've seen many injecting molding operations in my work, I was not in the industry itself and I wonder if all plastic kits are cut into one mold. The bodies especially need more than just a two part mold ... they have 4 or more parts with sliding pieces to allow freeing the body from the mold. Since the body is the reason for the color differences it would have much to do why the chrome tree differs in color. It could be just due to using excess colored beads in the chrome tree to balance out all the costs and efficient quantities.

It would be interesting to hear from someone with experience in the industry speculate on this. And sorry, Dan. if that includes you .. I'm not doubting what you said.

[Jairus]

Dan is correct!

[Gregg]

The "Official" word:"

Well, basically this is what would have happened: the factory produced all the white, metallic red and metallic purple shots during the same production run. They'd run the white ones, clean out the press, run the red ones, clean out the press and then run the purple ones. Then, all the trees that need chroming would get gathered together and sent off to the chroming vendor - so the white, purple and red trees were all sent together and all chromed at the same time. When those chromed trees returned to the factory for pack out, the factory didn't concern themselves with the plastic color under the chroming.

***********

[crazyjim]

Yo Gregg - ever get the filter(s)?

[Gregg]

nope. nada. zip. nein. eia. neut.
Still no response from Pace either.

[Michigan Madman]

Dave- try using Westley's Bleech-Wite. That stuff can strip chrome plating in as little as an hour- often you can let it soak an hour or two, take out the sprue, and blast it under some hot water from the sink faucet and the chrome falls right off.

[Michigan Madman]

Guess that would depend on local codes. I know at my old shop we'd use it for cleaning and hose it off the floors into the drains, and the city never gave us grief over it.

[Ben]

Has anyone bought a metallic purple one from Autoworld yet? I keep searching their website but I can't find them???

[Michigan Madman]

They aren't listed as metallic purple, red, white, or whatever. You just kind of roll the dice and end up with whatever color you get.

[Michigan Madman]

As far as the undercoat does, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. It's very consistent removing plating, not so much with the undercoat. Seems to depend on how thick it is.

[Michigan Madman]

Oh- and it (like Purple Power) seems to work best in a sealed container of some sort- I use a Glad clear plastic container with a snap-on lid.

[Gregg]

NO. The purple one will be available only from Auto World. The Metallic Red one is the "lottery" one, one in every case.
The Purple is the Special One you can buy. I'll check with them and see when it will be listed and available.

[oldscool]

Guess that would depend on local codes. I know at my old shop we'd use it for cleaning and hose it off the floors into the drains, and the city never gave us grief over it.

When I was in my twenties I worked as a carb rebuilder and the shop owners flushed carb cleaner down the drain every day. You know, the kind that comes in a five gallon bucket and has a basket to dip the parts in. Very nasty stuff. But then, these guys were really behind the times. They took cash only and refused to work on any non-American car by telling the customer " we remember Pearl Harbor". This was during the 80s .

gus

Edited by oldscool, 06 January 2012 - 01:25 AM.

[Michigan Madman]

Sounds like a couple of the guys I used to work with. Funny thing is, I have a neighbor who's a WWII vet, he owns a Toyota, and has had a few Volkswagens (including a couple buggies) over the years. I figure if he can forgive and forget, somebody who didn't even live through it could as well.

Now, regarding the purple Auto World copies- it's just like the red ones, right- only a handful of each will be molded in the metallic purple?

[oldscool]

Love your avatar Chuck. I work with several young people who say "huh?" when I spring the BR549 joke on them. I keep forgetting that they have never seen Hee Haw.
gus

[Rob Hall]

Love your avatar Chuck. I work with several young people who say "huh?" when I spring the BR549 joke on them. I keep forgetting that they have never seen Hee Haw.
gus

Hmmmm...I think Chuck's avatar is an image from the movie 'Maximum Overdrive'...

[tim boyd]

Today I took a few minutes to build the cardboard background from the new Round 2 reissue of the Manx kit and pose that Model Cars poster car on the background. Here's how it looks.....TIM

By the way, if you've never heard of the Wiktor drive-in chain, it's because it doesn't exist. The name came from AMT's former Art Director Ken Wiktor. During the 1960's and early 1970's, a number of AMT's decal sheets included such "insider" messages...a sure sign of a team having fun! TIM